Hardy's Custom Calls & Hardcore Pursuit TV

Image Credit: Hardy's Custom Calls

As many of you should know, if you don't by now, I'm from West Virginia and love to help out any West Virginia companies or organizations I can. I met Ronnie Hardy of Hardy's Custom Calls back in March at the 2011 WV Hunting, Fishing, & Outdoor Sports Show. I actually bought an aluminum friction call, "Fatal Attraction," off of him and proceed to e-mail him and tell him how much I like it and asked if I could post about his company, luckily he agreed. But that's not where this story ends, we continue to e-mail each other back and forth periodically. In mid April Ronnie told me about being invited on a hunt in Michigan to chase some long beards with the Hardcore Pursuit Team.

This past week, I got the news that the episode Ronnie shot while turkey hunting in Michigan is going to be on the Season 3 Premier of Hardcore Pursuit TV. If you want to hear Hardy's Custom Calls first hand, watch what seems to be a great group of guys hunt some thunder chickens, or at the very least support a local West Virginia boy tune into the Sportsman Channel: Wednesday, June 29 at 9:30 AM, Thursday, June 30 at 6:00 PM, and Friday, July 1 at 11:00 PM. Below is the preview of this weeks episode.

HCP Week 1 Preview from Hardcore Pursuit on Vimeo.

**I am not sponsored by or associated with Hardy's Custom Calls or Hardcore Pursuit TV.**

Trail Cam Tuesday - June 28, 2011

Everyone should be excited for this week's Trail Cam Tuesday as this should be the debut of my new Moultrie M-80. Well... You're not going to get any pictures from it, you're going to get a short video, after some minor adjustments were made this weekend, the camera should be a little more spot on and will allow for better pictures and videos. The pictures for this weeks edition are taken on Jay's Moultrie I-65.

After looking at that, I thought was a close call with my camera, but I think they got a little closer to Jay's...

Come to find out, it was just a mama inspecting everything before her cubs could come out to play..

Mama "jawing" at something out of the camera's view.
** Notice Camera Angle**

Trying to scare off what ever was there, she stood to insert her dominance. If you noticed the difference
 in the camera angle, it was due to the cubs being treed in the tree the camera was on. 

Our Weekend in Photos - June 25 & 26, 2011

I know this weekend I was supposed to do a garden update again and an few more "Quick Takes" of some more goodies I got, but that got put on hold. Cassie was suppose to work this weekend and I was going to help her as well, but we found out early Saturday morning that she wasn't needed and shortly after that we had a house guest for the weekend. She stole the camera and snapped some pictures along the way.....

This weekend my best friend, A, came to visit us. She wanted to relax and do anything outdoors. After she spent hours helping us clean out our flower beds and shrubs, Justin decided to take us out of the house. He said it was for us, but personally, I think we just gave him an excuse to let him do some of his favorite things. While everyone was playing, I happily stole the camera and got some pictures.

We loaded up the my jeep full of firearms and ammo. What is more fun on a Saturday afternoon?

Justin gave us a short tutorial before we got to shoot each gun...

Of course when I shoot the gun gets stuck....

A was most excited to shoot the Glock...I wish I would have got her picture shooting it!

We finished up mid afternoon and headed back to the house to change clothes and get ready for our next adventure... I am not sure why we'd want to change, I think this look suits us both....

Myself & A

Justin so selflessly offered to take us fishing Saturday evening. So we took out all the firearms, loaded up our poles and waders and headed out ...

Justin & A

No one caught anything, Justin affectionately refered to our fishing trip as drowning worms, but we all had such a great night and really enjoyed our day. We finished up the night by grilling steaks & veggies and listening to the river. It was the perfect ending to a great day!

We woke up early this morning and made blueberry pancakes and got A packed up to head home. I hated to see her go, We had such a great visit and  I we was so happy she came!

To make me feel better Justin offered to take me fishing again today. So we reloaded the jeep and met Jay there to fish some more. Apparently, the fish aren't biting this weekend - but again we all had fun...

My favorite fisherman

The boys...

The Meadow....

 I hope everyone had as much fun as we did this weekend. Have a great week :)
- Cassie

Garden Check In - June 24, 2011

This is a call to all gardeners or green thumb wannabees like myself. I am doing a check in to see how everyone's garden is doing. If this post goes over well, I'll do this at least bi-monthly. I am planning on doing a full post this weekend on how the garden is coming this year and what I have already learned in my first year of having my own garden. Feel free to leave comments on what you have growing, how much you've already harvested, what you are planning on growing, or helpful tips and hints on gardening for everyone's benefit.

My garden from early last week on 6/16/2011. More current pictures to follow this weekend.

Trail Cam Tuesday - June 21, 2011

I know, I know... Everyone is expecting to see what my new trail camera can do, but you are going to have to wait one more week. I am going to give my old Moultrie one last hoorah on Trail Cam Tuesday. This past weekend Jay and I headed to Foggy Mountain to retire my Moultrie CDC 5.0 and replace it with the M-80. Simple enough you'd think, but we had over looked the fact that there were a few wind storms and nasty storms in the past week. When we started to make the turn onto our property we found a tree down blocking our path. Neither one of us had a chain or hand saw with us so we had no choice but to walk from that point on. Not a bad walk at all, it is always nice to take a walk in the woods, but those pesky rain clouds sure made us walk a little quicker. As we walked in on my tree stand location Jay looked at me and asked if my camera had been moved, I wasn't sure, but come to find out it has been.

One of the first visitors we had on this round of footage.

 This year, in West Virginia, we two full weeks of Whitetail Archery Season before Bear Archery Season comes in wouldn't that be a nice addition to the season.

A young buck cutting across the one of my shooting lanes,
another year or two and he might have to worry a little more.

The cameras life wouldn't have been complete if I didn't have a bear mess around with it one last time. It has been through so much in the last three years plus it has been out, I am a little sad to see it go.

1. Notice the arrow pointing out the bear at the top of screen, not even noticing the camera,
2. Well.... He noticed it and it looks like he has part of his ear in the picture.
3. He wasn't done playing with it.. Looks like he wants to make it a chew toy.
4. Not much going on here besides the fact that my camera is now looking at the ground, good thing I was coming to check it that weekend.

Look for the first round of pictures from the new Moultrie M-80 next week.

West Virginia Day

Every 20th of June, West Virginia celebrates. We celebrate the secession from the state of Virginia, during the height of the Civil War, which lead to the creation of the great state of West Virginia.

Happy 148th Birthday West Virginia!!

Montani Semper Liberi

"Mountaineers are Always Free"

Happy Father's Day!!

Love you Dad!! Thanks for everything!!

It's Official!

Late last night, well more like 9:30 PM, Foggy Mountain Meanderings changed. That's right, www.foggy-mountain-meanderings.blogspot.com ceased to exist, we can now be found exclusively at www.foggymountainmeanderings.com. For those of you that support Foggy Mountain Meanderings with a link or in your Blog Roll please update you links to reflect these changes, and thank you for your continued support.

This change has been in the works for a while and had been contemplated for a month or more, but with the continual support of my family and friends, a gentle suggestion from JM over at Something's Fishy and Cassie telling me to do this daily for last three months, I finally did it. A big thank you goes to all of them!

Make sure to stay tuned to Foggy Mountain Meanderings for more great stories, content, product reviews, Trail Cam Tuesday, and a bright future!!

It's here... Quick Takes: Moultrie M-80

Image Credit: Moultrie

Just as promised, when I got home from work yesterday my new trail camera, a Moultrie M-80 was waiting in my mailbox for me. I must admit that this is a welcomed change from the big box stores, normally your order takes a day or two to process, this wasn't the case with  Custom 1 Enterprises **. After placing my order early Monday morning, I had hoped to revieve my camera by Friday so I could put it up this weekend, I was shocked when I recieved an e-mail from Chuck at Custom 1 Enterprises ** stating that he had received my order and it will be shipped out that same day and more importantly that I should have it in two to three days! I know where I'm going next time if I need a trail camera ASAP, not to mention their accessories, custom mounts, and security boxes.

Quick Takes

M-80 vs Dollar Bill

• Size: The fist thing I noticed about this camera is the size of it. It's small! Yes, that is one reason why I wanted it, but still getting it on my hands for the first time was a little awkward (in a good way) in comparison to the more traditional size of trail cameras.

• Construction / Casing: The construction and durability of camera seems to be par with most of what Moultrie is producing at the current time. One thing I am happy to see is that the housing/case and camera and one piece (compared to my older camera where the camera latched into the case), I know I had my issues before with the case. I think that having a camera that is connected to the case, allows the camera to have more protection from the elements. Where as in the example of my older Moultrie CDC 5.0, if the seal on the case wears out or becomes damaged the case can fill with water or snow and damage the camera, that would prove more difficult to happen with the M-80.

• Mount: This was the only area I am unsure of at this point. I have used a Moultrie I-65 before with this type, it is a nylon strap with a hard plastic clasp. I know it holds it to the tree fine, but I am worried about the longevity of this clasp and strap as well as the how it will fair in the snow and cold of winter.

• Overall: I am very happy and excited to get this camera out and in action. Only time will tell how it holds up, but as you all know if there's anyone out there that can test how well this trail camera will work, it's me. In a matter of days Moultrie's M-80 will be tested against Foggy Mountain. Look for a full review in the months to follow.

** I am not associated or sponsored by  Custom 1 Enterprises, I am merely trying to inform any of my readers of a good deal and what looks to be a good company with work with thus far.

Trail Cam Tuesday - June 14, 2011

I was already excited for this week's "Trail Cam Tuesday," due to some nice antler growth on a few bucks for this time of year. But now after having placed an order with , Custom 1 Enterprises **, I will be the proud new owner of a Moultrie M -80. After doing a lot of research and a waiting game, so to speak, trying to find the best deal, I finally ordered one. The deal I came across and couldn't pass it up was at  Custom 1 Enterprises **, they currently have the M-80 on sale for $109.99 with free shipping.  Everyone should be looking forward to a new trail camera product review here in the next month or so.

** I am not associated or sponsored by  Custom 1 Enterprises, I am merely trying to inform any of my readers of a good deal and what looks to be a good company with work with thus far.

Now on with the regular portion of Trail Cam Tuesday....

As I had mentioned there are a few bucks lurking around Foggy Mountain with some decent antler growth for this time of year. I have been holding on to these pictures since last week, so the anticipation has been building to say the least. It might be the mast year last fall, it could have been the milder winter, or even the fact that the total number of deer taken last year was down throughout the state of West Virginia, but I'm not sure. All I know is that I am getting itchy for fall and shoot that foam target isn't curing my itch very well. These bucks have been hitting the mineral licks hard all spring and it is already starting to show off.

Not to bad of a spread for being June 1st. 

I may be wrong but this picture and the next one make me thing that this was
the buck that we nicknamed "Slick" a few years ago.

It is still a little to early to tell, but "Slick" was a large seven point last year.
He has only one browtine and has been around the property going on 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years now.

Free Fishing Weekend!!

Who doesn't love FREE? This weekend, June 11 & 12, is the state's annual free fishing weekend for everyone ( resident and non-resident) in the state of West Virginia. This is an annual event that is held in conjunction with National Fishing and Boating Week and sponsored by Take Me Fishing. So what are you waiting on? Get out there and get fishing and don't forget to let someone tag along with you so they can learn about and start to love the art of fishing.

If you want more information including (fishing derbies for kids) on this weekend, click here.

Trail Cam Tuesday - June 7, 2011

I may have fibbed a little, I did have a "how-to" or reminder/re-fresher Trail Cam Tuesday set to post this week, but I had to bump that one back a week or so. This past weekend Cassie's parents came to visit us, the one thing her mom and even Cassie keeps wanting to see is a bear. It is kind of a pipe dream to just walk in and see a bear, but we all piled into the Jeep and took off in hopes of see a bear while I switched the cards in my trail camera. Surprisingly enough, we managed to see some turkeys and deer while we were checking my camera, but unfortunately we didn't see any bear. After see the pictures we I was glad we didn't see the bears that were running around up there, as you will see in the next few pictures.

Here's reason #1 why I was happy we didn't get to see a bear.
This boar doesn't look like he'd be very friendly.

Here are reasons #2 - #5. Make sure to look close, there a cub hanging close to momma
and then another playing around the base of my treestand.

Another sow watching over last years cubs and reasons # 6, 7...

... #8 and 9. That's right, count them, nine total bears hanging around my treestand
and we couldn't see one. Thank goodness.

Lynn and Cassie, this Trail Cam Tuesday is for you, even though we didn't 

get to see any bears, I hope this makes up for it a little. 

Woods & Waters: New season dates to affect W.Va.’s hunters

When I started reading about the "newly" proposed / approved archery dates, over a month ago, in the local news paper, I posted an article verifying it as well as my opinion on the matter. As my opinions haven't changed, I did happen across another article that gives more insight on the changes along with a few reminders and alterations to other fall hunting seasons.

New season dates to affect W.Va.’s hunters

May 22, 2011 by John McCoy

When West Virginia’s wildlife officials change a hunting regulation, they expect two years to pass before hunters grow accustomed to the change.

With that in mind, perhaps this is a good time to preview some significant changes in store for fall 2011. It’s not exactly two years’ notice, but four months is better than nothing.

The most significant change – the one sure to affect more hunters than any of the others – occurs Oct. 1, the new opening date for the archery deer season.

What’s interesting about this change is that it didn’t originate with the Division of Natural Resources.

DNR biologists usually propose season dates and bag limits, and the seven-man Natural Resources Commission votes to accept, reject or change them. In this case, however, commission members took matters into their own hands.

One or two commissioners decided that the bow season should start earlier. After a brief discussion, the issue came up for a vote and the motion carried. Just like that, West Virginia’s got a deer season that begins two weeks sooner than usual.

DNR officials didn’t seem mind the change, though. Every biologist I’ve talked to has said it wouldn’t significantly affect the deer herd.

Interestingly, the Oct. 1 opener will apply only to deer. The bear archery season will open as usual on Oct. 15. To continue reading, click here...